Petrol price slashed by 32 paise; diesel costlier by 28 paise

Good news for petrol car owners and bad one for diesel possessors! As a result of fortnight price revision, petrol is now cheaper by 32 paise per litre and diesel is costlier by 28. After the implementation of new cuts and hikes, the former now costs Rs. 59.63 and latter Rs. 44.96, in Delhi.

Mulling on international rates of crude oil, the prices of petrol should have been slashed by a larger margin, though this is the sixth straight reduction in its prices. In the last alteration, petrol and diesel were made cheaper by marginal 4 and 3 paise respectively. The official statement of Indian Oil Corporation, around 15 days back, read that the current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and Rupee-US dollar exchange rate warrant a decrease in prices, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision.

The Government has been using reduction in prices of oil to fill its deficit, specially at a time when annual budget is round the corner. It raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Re. 1 and Rs. 1.50 respectively, to generate an additional revenue of Rs. 3,200 crore.

Although decreasing value of the Indian rupee in comparison to the American dollar has been a cause of worry and has as well restricted the slash of prices by large extent.

“The current level of international product prices of petrol and diesel and Rupee-US dollar exchange rate warrant decrease in price of petrol and increase in price of diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision. The movement of prices in the international oil market and Rupee-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes,” IOC said in a statement.

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